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TKR Joyfull61's Recovery Thread

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The good news:
My energy level has finally returned. I'm active and do pretty much everything I want to do within reason. I started back with my running club as a walker (I'm not messing up these new knees by pounding on them), I've been doing yoga (I modify poses that involve strain on my knees), I can get up and down from the floor, sit crossed-legged, I can get up and down from low seats (I silently curse when it hurts), and pretty much live a normal life. I apply eight-hour ice packs every night before bed and sleep in comfort. I've become quite good at recognizing the signs my knees give me when I'm getting close to overdoing it. When I feel that familiar stiffness and heaviness, I know to sit my fanny down.

The bad news:
I'm back to whine again. I still have pain inthe tendons around and on top of my left knee (PKR August 31, 2015). It's much worse than my right knee (TKR Nov 30, 2015). I know there is a wide range of normal, but it seems odd that these tendons would still be so sore seven months out. For long time, I thought it was my quad, but after looking at some anatomical diagrams, I feel pretty sure it's tendons instead.

Is this something that usually takes care of itself? :tantrum::tantrum:
 
If it's tendonitis, it can be stubborn and you have to really rest it.
 
@kneeper I think you're probably correct. I've also noticed that I've returned to sitting the way I did before my knee issues began. I tuck my left leg under me without giving it a thought. Those tendons take a beating in that position. That's a hard habit to break since I've sat that way for many, many years. The twist and pull motion is probably causing a good bit of the problem.
 
:yahoo:Good news Monday.

Six months really IS the magic number, at least for me.

Yes, my knees still get stiff and tight when I over-do it. Yes, they still bother me descending stairs. Yes, the few times I've tried to run (just a tiny bit) my lower legs felt disconnected from the upper legs even though visually, my gait was excellent. No, I'm not ready to walk a half-marathon (or even a 5K), but I'm so much better than I was just two months ago. My stamina is almost back to normal, and I can do normal things like shop and cook without thinking about my knees all the time. The light at the end of the tunnel is bright.
 
IT Band Syndrome. This is what happens to you when you you're doing almost everything you want/need to do activity wise and you get just a tiny bit carried away.

I started working on speeding up my walking so that I can start doing races again for fun, specifically starting with 5K run/walks. I need to be able to walk a consistent 16-minute-mile pace. I finally got the distance with no issues but once I started increasing my speed, WHAM. Stupid IT Bands.

Other than wearing braces when walking, slowing down a little, icing, and resting a bit more, am I missing anything? Has anyone tried acupuncture?

Slowing down is hard when your legs (and the brain that controls the legs) know they can go faster. :walking::walking::walking::walking:

I must say that it's great being back with my running club even if I'm walking.
 
No running yet, except to get across the street! My OS said no running for at least a year. He prefers that I never run again, but knows I probably won't be able to hold myself back. It's too much a part of who I am. I'll never run as much as I once did, but I'd sure like to walk fast.


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Ladies, don't wear heels. Just don't.

I wore a low wedge heel to the office on Wednesday. Last night, I noticed that my legs were swollen. My ankle bones were no where to be seen. After elevating for several hours, drinking lots of extra fluids, and sleeping with ice, they're a lot better today. The swelling was so bad that I had trouble walking to the mailbox. Swollen knees just don't move well!! I'll keep my activity level low today and continue to nurse my knees.

I'm ten months out from my left knee PKR and seven months out from my right knee TKR. I thought I was past all of this. I guess not. Another lesson learned the hard way.
 
Thank you for the tip. I hope you feel better after a day of rest.
 
Ice and elevation are the best things ever when you over-do it.

I knew when I put on those cute wedge sandals that they were a bad idea, but I'm so tired of sensible shoes!
 
Great post Joy! My athletic shoes will sometimes cause swelling and pain in my knee when on it too long! But I'm only 10wks out. I'll now keep an eye on what type of shoes I wear on-going!
 
I'm running around in the house with nothing but socks on. I wonder if I'm making a mistake. When I start wearing shoes will my knee throw a fit? There's no way I can go to church in just socks. Hey, maybe flip flops!
 
@sistersinhim
That's funny! I"d walk around barefoot all the time if I could.

All of my basic flats are fine, but anything with more than a 1/2 inch heel throws everything off and the swelling starts. You'd think than my left PKR would be past all of that, but it doesn't seem to like change very much just like my seven-month right TKR. I'm sure most of it is all my fault since I seem to be in the habit of overdoing it. There is also my bad habit of tucking my left leg under my fanny when I'm sitting. I'm sure my soft tissues don't care for that position.

Ice, elevation, and rest always brings everything back around though. I foresee a shoe shopping trip in my future. If I'm stuck with flats, they're going to be cute :egypdance:
 
Tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of my left PKR! The year has flown by, and regretfully I'm still not at 100% yet. I guess I thought that every ache and pain would miraculously go away somewhere during the 12th month. Hahaha. The implants themselves feel solid and my OS says everything looks great.

The problem is that I'm continuing to have pain in each knee, mostly when standing or when walking down stairs. If I overdo it (which is often), I'll end up sore and swollen (knees to feet) for a few days in which I elevate, rest, and ice. The pain subsides when I get off my feet. The pain which spikes to a 5-6 feels like a rubber band that it stretched as far as possible and is about to tear. (Of course, it doesn't - that would be a bloody mess!) But I want it to stop. General walking causes no pain, but stiffness sets in after a 45 minutes or so. That's when I know it's time to stop.

My question is this. Am I experiencing IT Band Syndrome and/or am I overdoing it too often and keeping the soft tissues irritated? I walk several days a week for an hour or so, use the stairs at work (just one level), and generally do anything I want to do. ROM is excellent.

Quick summary - moderate swelling from the knees to the feet after a session of overdoing it; pain peaks at a 5-6 and stops when I stop doing what causes the pain; I elevate and ice as needed (at least an hour at a time or overnight if possible); no other exercises other than infrequent stretching of the IT bands.

I took the diagram from @Josephine and marked where the pain is located.

[Bonesmart.org] Joyfull61's Recovery Thread
 
What exercises were you doing and when did you stop?
 
After I was dismissed from PT after my RTKR, I stopped doing ALL the formal exercises except walking for normal activities. I was tired of doing them and I'm not good with doing things on my own. I gradually started walking again with my old running group. (There are always walkers because of injury, pregnancy, etc.)

More specifically, I was doing all the foolish things that U.S. PTs have you do. Using weight machines for quad strength, exercise bands (I kept them on the loose side), balancing on each leg, wall squats (I drew the line there and would only squat a minimal amount). If it hurt, I would have the PT make adjustments. It was all really a breeze and I had full ROM within six weeks. I had some issues with my right IT band during PT and learned to do the stretches to help alleviate the pain.
 
And have you had this pain since then or is it a recent thing?
 
Since then. I kept thinking it was just a part of the process.

I'm actually doing much better descending stairs with less pain than a month ago. There is zero pain when I step down with my leg straight. It's only when the knees are bending.
 
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